Opening Remarks at Bidder's Conference

Good afternoon. Welcome to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP) first annual Bidder's Conference. We plan to make this an annual event. In looking around this room I see many familiar faces who have long partnered with G/TIP on one of the great issues of our day--the fight to abolish human trafficking. Many of you are key allies both in the policy arena, specifically of late on the reauthorization of Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), as well as invaluable partners on the ground. You reflect the diversity of the movement that coalesced around this issue…service providers and human rights NGOs, faith-based and feminist organizations, left and right on the political spectrum. Some of you have long been in the trenches, while others are newer to the fight. We appreciate each of you and applaud your efforts. The success of our own work hinges on close collaboration with the NGO community.

As many of you already know the TIP office, which I have the privilege of leading, has four primary functions: writing the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which is the U.S. Government's principal diplomatic tool used to engage foreign governments; increasing public awareness; working diplomatically with foreign governments to encourage progress in combating trafficking; and of course, managing anti-trafficking funds. These four functions compliment each other--it is critical to note for the purposes of our discussion today that the annual report and the management of anti-trafficking funds are inextricably linked.

Before beginning a discussion of funding levels and priorities, let's briefly discuss the scope of the problem--that which drives the projects you implement and the programs we fund. Around the world there has been a real paradigm shift in awareness about human trafficking, and a sensitivity that victims are just that--victims, not criminals or illegal aliens. There is a growing refusal to accept enslavement as an inevitable product of poverty or human viciousness. It is not just poverty and desperation that make human trafficking possible, but also the extreme greed and sadism of the exploiters and the catalyst of corruption.

The U.S. Government (USG) estimates that approximately 800,000 people are trafficked internationally each year; millions are enslaved in their own countries. People are coerced into bonded labor, exploited in domestic servitude, and enslaved in agricultural work and in factories. Victims of sex trafficking and slave labor include foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, women and men, and children and adults. Human trafficking is a jargon term. Trafficking as a word makes some think it is chiefly about moving people across borders. It is NOT. Trafficking chiefly involves extreme exploitation and control, both physical and psychological. A few weeks ago I met a 24 year old woman from Nepal who worked as a domestic servant in Kuwait. She'd been beaten and had numerous bite marks all over her arms and back form a sadistic woman who felt impunity to treat her as NO human should be treated. She was, simply, a slave in her employer's house. This is inhuman, and it must be abolished.

Seated here in the comfort of the U.S. State Department we must be ever mindful of the individual faces of human trafficking--lest we forget that policy decisions and funding priorities have real life implications. As we've learned more about this form of modern-day slavery, the U.S.--both government and civil society--has quickly moved into global leadership. We advocate for tougher prosecution of criminals, greater support for victims, and stronger warning messages to prevent innocent men, women and children from being lured into exploitation schemes. In the last five years, over 100 countries have passed new laws or amended existing law to toughen penalties for human trafficking. But much remains to be done.

The annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which is released in June, examines what countries are doing on three fronts-protection, prosecution, and prevention. The report ranks 151 countries and territories. Extensive analysis based on criteria laid out by Congress in the original TVPA goes into the assignment of countries into Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3. The report is an authoritative assessment of global trends in human trafficking and it serves to draw the world's attention to the existence of modern-day slavery. One of the trends discerned in field reporting for the 2006 and 2007 Trafficking in Persons Reports is the use of debt as a tool of coercion in both forced labor and sex trafficking. We also noted in the annual report a lack of progress on rule of law which can be traced to official corruption and complicity in the exploitation, on the one hand, and indifference on the other. Desperate migrant laborers are vulnerable to force, fraud and coercion--omnipresent tactics used by traffickers in cases of labor slavery--in a climate of official indifference where this crime is, typically, not criminalized, but considered a civil, regulatory offense.

Importantly from a programming perspective, the report not only identifies trends, but it represents a guide for how U.S. Government foreign assistance should be prioritized to assist governments to respond more effectively--to address those substantive trends and countries of particular concern. Our leadership on human trafficking is not purely rhetorical or even diplomatic as important as both may be. The USG has spent over $449 million dollars for international anti-TIP programs since FY 2001. In FY 2006 alone we obligated approximately $74 million to fund 54 programs in about 70 countries. G/TIP's funds are centrally managed which allow for a tailored response to a smaller number of recently designated priority countries identified in the TIP Report. G/TIP funds are used primarily, although not exclusively to assist Tier 3 and Tier 2 Watch List countries, with a specific focus on deficiencies identified in the annual TIP report and subsequent interim reports. Six countries have been on the Tier 2 Watch List for three or more consecutive years. Several countries struggle to combat trafficking with limited resources and, while they meet the minimum requirements for the TIP Report assessment, they would benefit from assistance and additional expertise in this difficult fight.

Our funding decisions are particularly informed by (1) the severity and scope of the trafficking problem in a particular country, (2) the country's lack of financial resources and (3) the political will on the part of the country's national and local governments. We seek to fund projects in the short term, generally 18 to 36 months, which create an environment conducive to systemic change. Today's conference will allow you to hear from and engage with the dedicated program staff that work in G/TIP. Their passion for this issue and commitment to this cause is matched only by your own. At the heart of U.S. Government efforts to end human trafficking is a commitment to human dignity--a desire not only to rescue people, but restore their dignity. You are our partners in this endeavor.